ITS Program Advisory Committee to the Secretary of Transportation, 26168-26170 [E6-6687]

Agencies

• Federal Highway Administration
• DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

[Federal Register Volume 71, Number 85 (Wednesday, May 3, 2006)]
[Notices]
[Pages 26168-26170]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E6-6687]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Highway Administration

[FHWA Docket No. FHWA-2006-24307]


ITS Program Advisory Committee to the Secretary of Transportation

AGENCY: Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), DOT.

ACTION: Notice of intent to form an advisory committee.

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SUMMARY: Pursuant to section 5305(h) of the Safe, Accountable, 
Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users 
(SAFETEA-LU), the Secretary of Transportation, acting through the 
Acting Administrator of the Federal Highway Administration, is 
establishing an advisory committee to advise the Secretary on carrying 
out the Department of Transportation's Intelligent Transportation 
System (ITS) Program. The purpose of this notice is to invite 
interested parties to submit comments on the issues to be discussed, 
and submit the names of organizations and participants to be considered 
for representation on the committee.

DATES: You should submit your comments or nominations for membership on 
the committee on or before June 2, 2006.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. Michael Freitas, Managing 
Director, ITS Joint Program Office, (202) 366-9292; Ms. Robin Fields, 
Office of the Chief Counsel, (202) 366-4099; or Mr. Wil Baccus, Office 
of the Chief Counsel, (202) 366-1396; 400 Seventh Street, SW., 
Washington, DC 20590. Office hours are from 7:45 a.m. to 4:15 p.m., 
e.t., Monday through Friday, except Federal holidays.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Electronic Access

    You may submit or retrieve comments online through the Document 
Management System (DMS) at: https://dms.dot.gov/submit. The DMS is 
available 24 hours each day, 365 days each year. Electronic submission 
and retrieval help and guidelines are available under the help section 
of the Web site.
    An electronic copy of this document may be downloaded from the 
Federal Register's home page at: https://

[[Page 26169]]

www.archives.gov and the Government Printing Office's database at: 
https://www.access.gpo.gov/nara.
    Anyone is able to search the electronic form of all comments 
received into any of our dockets by the name of the individual 
submitting the comment (or signing the comment, if submitted on behalf 
of an association, business, labor union, etc.). You may review DOT's 
complete Privacy Act Statement in the Federal Register published on 
April 11, 2000 (70 FR 19477), or you may visit https://dms.dot.gov.
    Please note that even after the comment closing date, we will 
continue to file relevant information in the Docket as it becomes 
available. Further, some people may submit late comments and we 
recommend that you periodically check the Docket for new material.

Background

    On August 10, 2005, the President signed into law the Safe, 
Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy 
for Users (SAFETEA-LU) (Pub. L. 109-59, 119 Stat. 1144). Title V, 
Subtitle C, section 5305(h) mandates the establishment of an ITS 
Program Advisory Committee.

A. Notice of Intent To Establish an Advisory Committee and Request for 
Comment

    In accordance with the requirements of the Federal Advisory 
Committee Act (FACA), 5 U.S.C. App II, section 1, an agency of the 
Federal Government cannot establish or utilize a group of people in the 
interest of obtaining consensus advice or recommendations unless that 
group is chartered as a Federal advisory committee. The purpose of this 
notice is to indicate the Department's intent to create a Federal 
advisory committee, under FACA, in order to invite interested parties 
to submit comments on ITS issues to be considered by the committee and 
to submit the names of organizations and participants to be considered 
for representation on the committee.

B. Name of Committee

    ITS Program Advisory Committee to the Secretary of Transportation.

C. Purpose and Objective

    The ITS Program Advisory Committee to the Secretary of 
Transportation (ITSAC-OST) will advise the Secretary of the Department 
of Transportation by:
    1. Providing input into the development of the Intelligent 
Transportation System aspects of the strategic plan under section 508 
of title 23, United States Code; and
    2. Reviewing, at least annually, areas of intelligent 
transportation systems research being considered for funding by the 
Department, to determine--
    (i) Whether these activities are likely to advance either the 
state-of-the practice or state-of-the art in intelligent transportation 
systems;
    (ii) Whether the intelligent transportation system technologies are 
likely to be deployed by users, and if not, to determine the barriers 
to deployment; and
    (iii) The appropriate roles for government and the private sector 
in investing in the research and technologies being considered.
    ITSAC-OST does not exercise program management or regulatory 
development responsibilities and makes no decisions directly affecting 
the programs on which it provides advice. ITSAC-OST provides a forum 
for the development, consideration, and communication of information 
from a knowledgeable and independent perspective.

D. Balanced Membership Plans

    According to section 5305(h) of SAFETEA-LU, the ITSAC-OST shall 
have no more than 20 members, be balanced between metropolitan and 
rural interests, and include, at a minimum--
    (1) A representative from a State highway department;
    (2) A representative from a local highway department who is not 
from a metropolitan planning organization;
    (3) A representative from a State, local, or regional transit 
agency;
    (4) A representative from a metropolitan planning organization;
    (5) A private sector user of intelligent transportation system 
technologies;
    (6) An academic researcher with expertise in computer science or 
another information science field related to intelligent transportation 
systems who is not an expert on transportation issues;
    (7) An academic researcher who is a civil engineer;
    (8) An academic researcher who is a social scientist with expertise 
in transportation issues;
    (9) A representative from a nonprofit group representing the 
intelligent transportation system industry;
    (10) A representative from a public interest group concerned with 
safety;
    (11) A representative from a public interest group concerned with 
the impact of the transportation system on land use and residential 
patterns; and
    (12) Members with expertise in planning, safety, and operations.
    This document gives notice of this process to potential 
participants and affords them the opportunity to request representation 
on the ITSAC-OST. The procedure for requesting such representation is 
set out below. In addition, comments and suggestions for potential 
participants are invited.
    The Department is aware that there are many more potential 
organizations and participants than there are membership slots on the 
committee. Organizations and participants should be prepared to support 
their participation on the committee.
    It is very important to recognize that interested parties who are 
not selected to membership on the committee can make valuable 
contributions to the work of the ITSAC-OST in any of several ways. The 
person or organization could request to be placed on the committee 
mailing list, submitting written comments, as appropriate. Any member 
of the public could attend the committee meetings, and, as provided in 
FACA, speak to the committee. Time will be set aside during each 
meeting for this purpose, consistent with the committee's need for 
sufficient time to complete its deliberations.

E. Applications for Membership

    Each application for membership or nomination to the committee 
should include:
    (1) The name of the applicant or nominee and the interest(s) 
identified in Section 5305(h) such person would represent;
    (2) Evidence that the applicant or nominee is authorized to 
represent parties related to the interest(s) the person proposes to 
represent; and
    (3) A written commitment that the applicant or nominee would 
participate in good faith.
    Every effort is made to select committee members who are objective. 
A balance is needed and weight is given to a variety of factors 
including but not limited to geographical distribution, gender, 
minority status, organization, and expertise.

F. Duration

    Continuing.

G. Notice of Establishment

    After evaluating comments received as a result of this notice, the 
Department will issue a notice announcing the establishment and 
composition of the committee.

(Authority: Section 5305(h), Public Law 109-59, 119 Stat. 1144)


[[Page 26170]]


    Issued on: April 28, 2006.
J. Richard Capka,
Acting Federal Highway Administrator.
 [FR Doc. E6-6687 Filed 5-2-06; 8:45 am]
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